The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1887-03-04
Alcohol on the Congo.

Henry VI. STANLEY While IN New - TX
gave an address before the VI. T.. Preachers
Meeting in the course of which, speaking
of climatic influences and mortality, he also
made some reference to the destructive i'm
iiuence of alcohol on the Congo. from
which We quote the following:
Lieutenant Grant is a splendid, stall
wart-lookng man from Luxembourg. He
has an ambition 10 distinguish himself
He does not like the position assigned him.
so give him other work and fifty men to
continue the road from Manyanga to Stan
ley Pool. He has with him one bottle
of Burgundy. lie will keep that fora gala
day-the birthday of the king. lie means
to drink that to a larger number of days to
his majesty. Some five miles on the road
he meets friend coming from Stanley
Pool, and How do You do? am delight
ed to see you. The friend has just one
bottle of brandy. They club together, and
they bring out-one his bottle of Burgun
dy and the other the brandy. Next morn
ing the work must 90 on. of course. The
trader bids him good-by, and the officer
must muster his work ing parties and pro-
ceed. But the effect of that nights diSs-
patton is pretty soon seen. At nine
| o'clock the sun comes out strong. Before
six O'Clock that afternoon he is in his
grave.
You ask about the climate and health
fulness of the river valleys. How can you
understand unless | specify certain points
| to illustrate?
A man has been with me on the Upper
Congo two years and nine months. fie
has distinguished himself. | can recon-
mend him to anybody for industry, fidelity
and attention to his duties. I wish to pre-
serve him. He has slight dysenteric symp-
toms. say to him: If | thought could
keep you from wine and liquor would
send you to the coast, and send you home
with good care; and if | had the authority
to bind you under an oath, so that you
could not touch glass OF liquor. | should
be quite sure that You would arrive at
home, and after a residence there of from
three to six months you would be prepared
to return He said But promise you
that | will not touch drop of liquor i
do not want to exercise any restraint over
yon, but my firm conviction is that if you
do touch it you will never reach home
Good-by Boys, carry him.
| | give him a dozen hammock bearers
| He reaches the coast. The doctors attend
him. lie RECEIVERS from the slight dysen-
teric malady. They say now he is in fit
condition to go home. That evening lie
swaps his coat to native for a bottle of
gin, and by midnight he is dead.
Therefore, when you ask about the eli
mate and the healthfulness of the river val
leys, people who are suffering from the de-
pressing influences of such instances of
fatality will naturally say, with great
force Such and such a man died. and such
and such IA man, and so Oh: and look at
that cemetery at Banana Point, Go there
and you will see headstones marked:
''lIere lies the mortal remains of So-and-
So belonging to Stanley's expedition,
and Sergeant So-and.So belonging to
SANKEY'S expedition" and you can count
twenty or thirty. The people in America
and England do not understand that there
have been snch fatalities.
But they will not tell you the causes;
md is it right that | should follow the
dead to their graves and say that such aud
such man die,i from such and such
cause ?"
''There was Scotch engineer who came
ont recommended by the British East In
dia Company lie was geniHs. He
knew the tricks Of making tlie rudest
structure comfortable and home-l like He
takes charge of the steamer Belgic to 90
down to the mouth Of the Congo. Three
days afterward | ask the captain where
his engineer is. He is dead He was
found sitting on chair with bottle Of
brandy in his hand-dead. =
Jnhu G. Whittier il the only male sfocl